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Navy SEAL unit punished for flying Trump flag in Kentucky

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An apparent military convoy in Louisville, Ky., was seen flying a Trump campaign flag, which would be a violation of Defense Department regulations around political activity. SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO BY STEVE THOMPSON

Navy SEAL unit punished for flying Trump flag in Kentucky

by: Fernando Alfonso III | .

Lexington Herald-Leader | .

published: March 01, 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Tribune News Service) — The Navy has punished the SEAL unit caught on video flying a campaign flag for President Donald Trump on military vehicles near Louisville in late January, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The exact number of people punished were not released nor were the details, said Lt. Jacqui Maxwell of the Naval Special Warfare Group 2 in Virginia Beach, Va.

"The inquiry was completed between the unit's commanders and service members. It has been determined that those service members have violated the spirit and intent of applicable DoD regulations concerning the flying of flags and the apparent endorsement of political activities,” Maxwell said in a statement. “Administrative corrective measures were taken with each individual based on their respective responsibility.”

The group of eight tan Humvees were spotted traveling north on Interstate 65 on Jan. 29. The lead Humvee was flying a blue Trump campaign flag.

The Department of Defense (DoD) initially told the Herald-Leader that the vehicles didn’t belong to an active military unit. That proved untrue after the Navy confirmed that the vehicles belonged to an East Coast Navy SEALs unit training at Fort Knox.

The video of the vehicles drew considerable criticism on social media because of longstanding DoD policy prohibiting personnel from engaging in political activity.